Transgender kids have become the latest target of the far right’s moral ire. Last year, Arkansas became the first state to make it a felony for doctors to provide gender-affirming care—which can include puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery—for transgender children. Alabama followed suit in April, and at least 13 states are considering similar bills. While most bills go after doctors, others would penalize parents for seeking care for their children.
Introduced last year during the 87th Texas legislative session, Senate Bill 1646 would have categorized providing such care to minors as child abuse, but the measure failed to become law. Nevertheless, in February, Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote an opinion categorizing all gender-affirming care for minors as child abuse. Texas Governor Greg Abbott then ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate parents seeking gender-affirming care for their children, prompting several employees to resign in protest. Now, the Texas Supreme Court is considering whether Abbott had the authority to call for the investigations after three district courts issued injunctions.
Proponents of the investigations claim that gender-affirming treatments are harmful to children. But major medical associations, like the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatricians, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry assert that gender-affirming care is a necessary treatment for dysphoria. These are among the dozens of medical groups that have signed on to amicus briefs supporting lawsuits filed to combat these bills, including the Texas case pending against Abbott. The Texas Observer spoke with licensed physician Colton St. Amand, a gender therapy specialist who identifies as transgender, and psychologist Cesar A. Gonzalez of the Mayo Clinic about the necessity of gender-affirming care for transgender minors and the potential mental health consequences of depriving them of it.
